


Abandoned

by superagentwolf



Category: X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Charles-centric, Gen or Pre-Slash, Hurt Charles, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-15
Updated: 2014-08-15
Packaged: 2018-02-13 05:52:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2139477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superagentwolf/pseuds/superagentwolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erik is so wrapped up in his war against the world that he doesn't realize when his actions put those around him in danger.<br/>And Charles thought that Erik cared.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Abandoned

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the scene in Days of Future Past where Charles is almost killed by falling debris (as per usual). I felt it necessary to address the fact that this is twice now that Erik's inadvertently almost killed his only (and best) friend. I felt like it's almost unbelievable that Erik would ignore or not notice when Charles, of all people, is in harm's way.

The sound of steel fills the air.

It is screaming and insistent and Charles flinches, unable to tear his eyes away from Erik until he feels it.

He’s felt this before. A rough pull at his gut, the feeling that everything that’s gone wrong has only been building up to something else. To _this_. This moment, right here-

It’s falling on him.

Hank’s mind screams even as his voice works and the sound is almost deafening to Charles. He thinks, wryly, for a moment, that this is irony at its best. Or perhaps it is more like karma. This repetition, this inevitable scene that’s being replayed.

Charles wonders momentarily if this is punishment. If this is a lesson, a hand reaching down from the heavens to slap him awake. Certainly it’s not unfamiliar, and Charles should know better, shouldn’t he?

When Erik goes to war, none near him are safe. Not even Charles.

Or is it _especially_ Charles? Fate has a funny way of making Charles the target of whatever disaster is about to occur. It could be divine justice, he thinks, for the plush life he was given- but then his family life was never anything near perfect, so what has he to atone for?

Maybe Charles simply serves as a puppet, another _thing_ being used in the great battle that seems to eternally rage between Erik and the world. The world seems to repeatedly give Erik an out, a way to stop and turn from the path he’s been fiercely throwing himself down.

Either way, Charles is the one who ends up taking the brunt of the attack. And he hasn’t learned.

The metal and concrete rains down and Charles lets out a wordless yell that sounds like Erik’s name. The wheelchair is pitifully useless and so Charles simply throws himself to the side, praying that he hasn’t just guaranteed his own death. The sound is like hell, screaming and rumbling and coming down on all sides.

There’s a large metal beam coming straight at Charles as he tries to roll his way around the falling wreckage. As much as he used to pride himself on control, even he has a sense of self-preservation and it screams at him violently as everything rains down on him.

Charles can’t help the loosening grip he feels on his abilities, the reins falling from his hands as his entire being cries out when the beam comes right at him. For a second he fleetingly thinks of Logan and Hank and he feels terribly worried about what they’ll attempt to do if he dies right at this extremely inopportune moment.

_“CHARLES!”_

_That’s not Hank…or Logan,_ Charles thinks to himself, but the revelation is gone as the fierce pain of being **impaled** begins to set in. It isn’t through anything vital, thank God, but Charles can _feel_ it, right there, stuck through his right side, pinning him to the turf.

Although he isn’t a medical student Charles has picked up a few things. The ABCs of trauma- airway, breathing, circulation- all come flooding to him with terrible clarity.

_I can breathe. Nothing’s coming up yet, so I won’t drown in my own blood. I can’t check my own circulation, but if I keep calm I can stop myself from going into shock too quickly and-_

It’s all too bizarre and Charles laughs. It is quite possibly the worst idea he’s had this whole adventure.

“Charles.”

Erik’s voice is weak and he seems to be holding something in Charles’ name. Everything is becoming a little bit too strange. The safe room, ripped from the building before them, lies abandoned in the center of the field. Erik has abandoned it.

 _He’s abandoned it_ , Charles thinks fuzzily, and the realization should be weighty and momentous but Charles is too busy focusing on the weighty and momentous object that is currently sticking out painfully from his side. He coughs once, blinking furiously in an attempt to stay conscious, and the feeling of a wet warmth on his tongue notifies him that there is blood. It’s not flooding his throat, though, so the blood is probably just from a bite on his cheek or tongue- something easily overlooked when there is greater injury.

“Charles,” Erik begins again, and his helmet is abandoned at his feet. _Abandoned,_ Charles thinks, and it’s something he’s too used to, abandonment. “I- I’m…,”

In a moment of clarity, Charles realizes that abandonment is the root of all their problems.

“So quick-,” Charles stops, coughing spastic, spots clouding his vision as the metal scrapes against his insides. “…to abandon hope.”

It’s shameless teasing in a moment that is utterly serious but Charles can’t help it. He’s found it, he’s found the _reason_ , and now that he has a cause he can eliminate it. Charles is nothing if not studious and scientific. This he can deal with. A problem, definite and concrete, he can solve.

Erik breathes in sharply, stormy eyes shining, and Charles thinks that he is perfect, even in this moment. Even now, when things have gone as wrong as they possibly could, Erik has come back. He shouldn’t have. By all rights Erik could’ve just ignored Charles, the already crippled reminder of a past best forgotten for someone already so broken. But Erik isn’t running. And he never does.

 _< Listen to me,> _Charles projects, trying to keep himself from talking lest more blood come up. _< I have always been with you. Always near. I always will be.>_

“Stop saying that,” Erik whispers harshly, and Charles hears the grass tear where Erik’s hands are digging into the earth. The metal around them creaks ominously and Charles feels a whine escape his throat unbidden.

The look that crosses Erik’s face can only be described as tortured.

 _< Erik. I will always be here. I will not abandon you.>_ Erik seems to stop breathing for a moment, lips parted in silent awe. It’s as if he’s beginning to realize, too. _< Will you be here?>_

And there it is. The question he never dared ask because he feared the answer. Because Charles always thought that Erik would leave. He had always believed in the front that Erik put up to protect himself. He believed even when he knew better because Charles couldn’t believe that anyone would stay with him. _I’m just as bad as you, old friend. I didn’t want to ask because I was afraid the answer would be no. Even though I knew you were hurting. Even though I knew you were just as lonely as I was._

“Yes. Yes, of course,” Erik managed, and he tried in vain to blink away the tears threatening to fall. Charles thought he could hear sirens in the distance.

 _< You won’t abandon me?>_ The words were childish even in tone but Erik didn’t care. _He’s thought the same thing himself._

“I won’t abandon you.”

Erik’s hand holds him down, keeps him tethered to the earth. It feels wonderful and Charles vaguely wonders if this is the first time he’s held someone’s hand like this. If it’s the first time he’s held Erik’s hand. The sirens get closer and Charles sighs, feeling the pain settle somewhere he can let it go.

And as he lies there, holding Erik’s hand, he lets it go.


End file.
